Remote environmental condition monitoring and reporting

ABSTRACT

Various technologies for monitoring operation of an air contaminant mitigation system, such as a vapor intrusion and/or radon gas mitigation system, are disclosed. For example, in one embodiment, a monitoring system includes an air contaminant mitigation system to exhaust vapors from a contaminated area to a designated area and a sensor module coupled to the air contaminant mitigation system to generate sensor signals indicative of a sensor condition of the air contaminant mitigation system. The system may also include a sensor controller to receive the sensor signals from the sensor module and generate sensor data indicative of the sensor signals. Additionally, the system may include a data server to receive the sensor data from the sensor controller, store the sensor data in a local database, and transmit information based on the sensor data to a remote computing device.

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/082,119 entitled “REMOTE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITION MONITORINGAND REPORTING,” which was filed on Nov. 16, 2013 and issued as U.S. Pat.No. 10,529,215 on Jan. 7, 2020, and which claims priority under 35U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/727,393,entitled “REMOTE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITION MONITORING AND REPORTING,”which was filed on Nov. 16, 2012, and to U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 61/801,692, entitled “REMOTE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITION MONITORINGAND REPORTING,” which was filed on Mar. 15, 2013, the entirety of eachof which is hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates, generally, to environmental conditionmonitoring and reporting and, more particularly, to systems, methods,and devices for remotely monitoring, and generating reports of, theoperation of vapor intrusion and/or radon mitigation systems installedat a location.

BACKGROUND

Adverse environmental conditions can render a location and/or buildingunsatisfactory for living or working. One type of adverse environmentalconditions is air contaminants such as vapor intrusion or radon gasintrusion, which can occur when volatile chemicals contained incontaminated soil or groundwater emit vapors or other air contaminants.Such vapors and/or air contaminants can seep through the subsurface of anearby or overlying building, entering the living or working spacetherein. The vapors and/or air contaminants emitted from the volatilechemicals can be harmful to the occupants of such buildings. Vaporintrusion may occur, for example, when land is repurposed from anoriginal use, involving the use of such volatile chemicals (e.g., a gasstation or chemical production plant), to another use (e.g., a businessor residential building).

Federal and local regulations may require the rehabilitation of anylocation in which vapor intrusion has been detected to ensure a safeworkplace or living space. Oftentimes, mitigation of vapor intrusionincludes periodic, on-site sampling of the air quality of theworkplace/living space. In some cases, the mitigation procedures mayinclude remediation of the contamination source within the land itself.Alternatively, active mitigation systems may be used to mitigate thevapor intrusion. In many active mitigation systems, the contaminatedarea (e.g., the sub-slab ground) is depressurized relative to theliving/working space. For example, a typical mitigation procedure mayinclude the use of air conduits, which are sunk into the ground (e.g.,through the subsurface of the building) and exhaust to the outside openair to lower the pressure of the contaminated area and facilitatepropagation of any harmful vapors away from the workplace/living space.Such mitigation systems may include fans to depressurize thecontaminated area and further facilitate the safe propagation of theharmful vapors. If so, proper fan operation may also be periodicallychecked as part of the periodic, on-site review.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The concepts described herein are illustrated by way of example and notby way of limitation in the accompanying figures. For simplicity andclarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the figures are notnecessarily drawn to scale. Where considered appropriate, referencelabels have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding oranalogous elements.

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment of asystem for remotely monitoring operation of an air contaminantmitigation system of a rehabilitated location;

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment of asensor module of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment of asensor controller of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment of anoperation monitor data server of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a simplified block diagram of another embodiment of the systemof FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a simplified block diagram of yet another embodiment of thesystem of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a simplified block diagram of yet another embodiment of thesystem of FIG. 1 including a primary sensor controller and a secondarysensor controller;

FIG. 8 is a simplified flow diagram of at least one embodiment of amethod for generating sensor signals that may be executed by the sensormodule of FIG. 2;

FIG. 9 is a simplified flow diagram of at least one embodiment of amethod for monitoring and transmitting sensor data that may be executedby the sensor controller of FIG. 3;

FIG. 10 is a simplified flow diagram of at least one embodiment of amethod for monitoring air quality of a rehabilitated location that maybe executed by the operation monitor data server of FIG. 4;

FIG. 11 is a simplified flow diagram of at least one embodiment of amethod for providing monitored site data to a remote computer that maybe executed by the operation monitor data server of FIG. 4;

FIGS. 12-15 are illustrative user interface displays that may begenerated by the operation monitor data server and displayed on theremote computer during execution of the method of FIG. 10.

FIGS. 16 and 17 are simplified illustrations of at least one embodimentof a housing of the sensor controller of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 18 and 19 are simplified illustrations of controller circuitry ofthe sensor controller of FIGS. 16 and 17; and

FIGS. 20-22 are simplified circuit diagrams of the controller circuitryof FIGS. 18 and 19.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect, a system for monitoring operation of aircontaminant mitigation system may include an air contaminant mitigationsystem to exhaust vapors from a contaminated area to a designated area;a sensor module coupled to the air contaminant mitigation system togenerate sensor signals indicative of a sensor condition of the aircontaminant mitigation system; a sensor controller to receive the sensorsignals from the sensor module and generate sensor data indicative ofthe sensor signals; and a data server to (i) receive the sensor datafrom the sensor controller, (ii) store the sensor data in a localdatabase, and (iii) transmit information based on the sensor data to aremote computing device.

In some embodiments, the air contaminant mitigation system may beembodied as a vapor intrusion mitigation system and/or a radon gasmitigation system. Additionally, in some embodiments, the aircontaminant mitigation system may include an exhaust fan coupled to anair conduit. In some embodiments, the sensor module may be connected tothe exhaust fan of the air contaminant mitigation system. In someembodiments, the sensor module may include a sensor to detect operationof the exhaust fan. In some embodiments, the sensor may include acurrent sensor coupled to a power path of the exhaust fan to detectoperation of the exhaust fan as a function of current supplied to theexhaust fan. In some embodiments, the sensor module is connected to theair conduit of the air contaminant mitigation system. In someembodiments, the sensor module may include a pressure sensor to measurean air pressure within the air conduit. In some embodiments, the sensormay include a gas sensor to detect the presence of a pre-determined typeof gas within the air contained in the air conduit.

Additionally, in some embodiments, the sensor module may include atleast one sensor to generate the sensor signals indicative of a sensorcondition of the air contaminant mitigation system, and a communicationcircuit to transmit the sensor signals to the sensor controller. In someembodiments, the communication circuit may include a wirelesscommunication circuit to wirelessly transmit the sensor signals to thesensor controller. In some embodiments, the communication circuit mayinclude a wired communication circuit to transmit the sensor signals tothe sensor controller over a wired communication link. In someembodiments, the communication circuit may include a modem configured totransmit the sensor signals over a telephone land line to the sensorcontroller. In some embodiments, the sensor module may include a localalarm circuit, wherein the local alarm circuit is to generate a localalarm in response to the sensor signals being outside a referencethreshold.

Further, in some embodiments, the sensor controller may include acommunication circuit to receive the sensor signals from the sensormodule; and a control circuit to generate the sensor data as a functionof the sensor signals and control the communication circuit to transmitthe sensor data to the data server. In some embodiments, thecommunication circuit may include a first data communication circuit toreceive the sensor signals from the sensor module. In some embodiments,the first communication circuit may include a wireless datacommunication circuit to receive the sensor signals from the sensormodule via a wireless communication link. In some embodiments, the firstcommunication circuit may include a wired data communication circuit toreceive the sensor signals from the sensor module via a wiredcommunication link. In some embodiments, the communication circuit mayinclude a second data communication circuit to transmit the sensor datato the data server.

Additionally, in some embodiments, the second data communication circuitmay include a cellular communication circuit to transmit the sensor datato the data server over a cellular network. In some embodiments, thesensor controller further includes a data storage, and the controlcircuit is to store the sensor signals in the data storage. In someembodiments, the control circuit is to generate the sensor data as afunction of sensor signals received over a reference time period. Insome embodiments, the sensor controller further includes a local alarm,and the control circuit is to activate the local alarm in response tothe sensor data being outside a reference threshold. In someembodiments, the control circuit is to transmit, via the communicationcircuit, an alert to the data server in response to the sensor databeing outside a reference threshold. In some embodiments, the sensorcontroller further includes a local alarm, and the control circuit is toactivate the local alarm in response to an alarm condition detected bythe control circuit.

In some embodiments, the control circuit is to transmit, via thecommunication circuit, an alert to the data server in response todetection of the alarm condition. In some embodiments, the communicationcircuit is to receive sensor signals from a plurality of sensor modules,and the control circuit is to generate the sensor data as a function ofthe sensor signals received from the plurality of sensor modules. Insome embodiments, the sensor controller may include a battery backup,and the control circuit is configured to activate the battery backup inresponse to a loss of main power to the sensor controller.

Additionally, in some embodiments, the data server is to periodicallytransmit the information based on the sensor data to the remotecomputing device. In some embodiments, the data server is to transmitthe information based on the sensor data to the remote computing devicein response to a query received from the remote computing device. Insome embodiments, the data server is to transmit the information to theremote computing device as a short message service (SMS) text message.In some embodiments, the data server is to transmit the information tothe remote computing device over a network. In some embodiments, thedata server is to transmit the information to a cellular phone over acellular network. In some embodiments, the data server is to generatethe information based on sensor data received over a referenced timeperiod. In some embodiments, the data server is to generate a localalarm in response to the sensor data being outside a referencethreshold. In some embodiments, the data server is to transmit an alertto the remote device in response to the sensor data being outside areference threshold. In some embodiments, the data server is to monitoroperation of the sensor controller and/or sensor module and storeoperation data indicative of the operation of the sensor controllerand/or sensor module.

In some embodiments, the data server is to generate a local alarm inresponse to the operation data being outside a reference threshold. Insome embodiments, the data server is to transmit an alert to the remotedevice in response to the operation data being outside a referencethreshold. In some embodiments, the data server is to generate a reportbased on the operation data, wherein the report indicates at least anoperation percentage indicative of the percentage of time during whichthe system was operational. In some embodiments, the data server is togenerate a report based on the sensor data.

According to another aspect, a method for monitoring operation of an aircontaminant mitigation system may include generating, on a sensormodule, sensor signals indicative of a sensor condition of an aircontaminant mitigation system; transmitting the sensor signals from thesensor module to a sensor controller; generating, on the sensorcontroller, sensor data indicative of the sensor signals; transmittingthe sensor data from the sensor controller to a data server; generatinginformation on the data server as a function of the sensor data; andfacilitating access, by a remote computing device, to the informationstored on the data server.

In some embodiments, generating sensor signals may include generatingsensor signals indicative of a sensor condition of at least one of avapor intrusion mitigation system and a radon gas mitigation system. Insome embodiments, generating sensor signals may include generatingsensor signals indicative of a current of an exhaust fan of the aircontaminant mitigation system. In some embodiments, generating sensorsignals may include generating sensor signals indicative of an airpressure within an air conduit the air contaminant mitigation system. Insome embodiments, generating sensor signals may include generatingsensor signals indicative of a type of gas present within air containedin an air conduit of the air contaminant mitigation system.

Additionally, in some embodiments, transmitting the sensor signals mayinclude wirelessly transmitting the sensor signals from the sensormodule to the sensor controller. In some embodiments, transmitting thesensor signals may include transmitting the sensor signals from thesensor module to the sensor controller over a wired communication link.In some embodiments, may include generating an alarm of the sensormodule in response to the sensor signals being outside a referencethreshold. In some embodiments, may include transmitting the sensor datacomprises transmitting the sensor data from the sensor controller to thedata server using a cellular network. In some embodiments, the methodmay include storing the sensor signals in a data storage of the sensorcontroller. In some embodiments, generating the sensor data may includegenerating the sensor data as a function of sensor signals received overa reference time period.

In some embodiments, the method may include generating a local alarm ofthe sensor controller in response to the sensor data being outside areference threshold. In some embodiments, may include transmitting, fromthe sensor controller to the data server, an alert in response to thesensor data being outside a reference threshold. In some embodiments,the method may include generating sensor data may include generatingsensor data indicative of sensor signals received from a plurality ofsensor modules. In some embodiments, the method may include activating abattery backup of the sensor controller in response to detection of aloss of main power of the sensor controller. In some embodiments,facilitating access to the information may include transmitting theinformation from the data server to the remote computing device.

Further, in some embodiments, transmitting the information may includeperiodically transmitting the information based on the sensor data. Insome embodiments, transmitting the information may include transmittingthe information in response to a query received from the remotecomputing device. In some embodiments, transmitting the information mayinclude transmitting the information to the remote computing device as ashort message service (SMS) text message. In some embodiments,transmitting the information may include transmitting the information tothe remote computing device over a network.

In some embodiments, facilitating access to the information may includetransmitting the information to a cellular phone over a cellularnetwork. In some embodiments, generating the information may includegenerating the information based on sensor data received over areferenced time period. In some embodiments, the method may includegenerating a local alarm on the data server in response to the sensordata being outside a reference threshold. In some embodiments, themethod may include transmitting an alert to the remote computing devicein response to the sensor data being outside a reference threshold. Insome embodiments, monitoring, on the data server, operation of thesensor controller and/or sensor module, and storing operation dataindicative of the operation of the sensor controller and/or sensormodule on the data server. In some embodiments, the method may includegenerating a local alarm on the data server in response to the operationdata being outside a reference threshold. In some embodiments,generating a report based on the operation data, wherein the reportindicates at least an operation percentage indicative of the percentageof time during which the system was operational. In some embodiments,the method may include generating a report based on the sensor data.

According to another aspect, a sensor module for generating sensorsignals indicative of a condition of an air contaminant mitigationsystem may include a sensor to generate sensor signals indicative of asensor condition of the air contaminant mitigation system; and acommunication circuit to transmit the sensor signals to a sensorcontroller. In some embodiments, the air contaminant mitigation systemmay include at least one of a vapor intrusion mitigation system and aradon gas mitigation system. In some embodiments, the sensor coupled toan exhaust fan of the air contaminant mitigation system to detectoperation of the exhaust fan. In some embodiments, the sensor mayinclude a current sensor to detection operation of the exhaust fan as afunction of current supplied to the exhaust fan. In some embodiments,the sensor may include a pressure sensor to measure an air pressurewithin an air conduit of the air contaminant mitigation system. In someembodiments, the sensor may include a gas sensor to detect the presenceof a pre-determined type of gas within the air contained in an airconduit of the air contaminant mitigation system. In some embodiments,the communication circuit may include a wireless communication circuitto transmit the sensor signals to the sensor controller over a wirelesscommunication link. In some embodiments, the communication circuit mayinclude a wired communication circuit to transmit the sensor signals tothe sensor controller over a wired communication link. In someembodiments, a plurality of sensors to generate sensor signalsindicative of multiple sensor conditions of the air contaminantmitigation system. In some embodiments, a local alarm circuit togenerate a local alarm in response to the sensor signals being outside areference threshold.

According to another aspect, a method for generating sensor signalsindicative of a condition of an air contaminant mitigation system mayinclude generating sensor signals indicative of a sensor condition ofthe air contaminant mitigation system; and transmitting the sensorsignals to a sensor controller. In some embodiments, generating sensorsignals may include generating sensor signals indicative of a sensorcondition of at least one of a vapor intrusion mitigation system and aradon gas mitigation system. In some embodiments, generating sensorsignals may include generating sensor signals indicative of a current ofan exhaust fan of the air contaminant mitigation system. In someembodiments, generating sensor signals may include generating sensorsignals indicative of an air pressure within an air conduit the aircontaminant mitigation system. In some embodiments, generating sensorsignals may include generating sensor signals indicative of a type ofgas present within air contained in an air conduit the air contaminantmitigation system. In some embodiments, transmitting the sensor signalsmay include wirelessly transmitting the sensor signals to the sensorcontroller over a wireless communication link. In some embodiments,transmitting the sensor signals may include transmitting the sensorsignals to the sensor controller over a wired communication link. Insome embodiments, the method may include generating an alarm of thesensor module in response to the sensor signals being outside areference threshold.

According to another aspect, a sensor controller for generating sensordata indicative of a condition of an air contaminant mitigation systemmay include a communication circuit to receive sensor signals from aplurality of sensor modules coupled to the air contaminant mitigationsystem, the sensor signals being indicative of a sensor condition of theair contaminant mitigation system; and a control circuit to generatesensor data as a function of the sensor signals and control thecommunication circuit to transmit the sensor data to the data server. Insome embodiments, the air contaminant mitigation system may include atleast one of a vapor intrusion mitigation system and a radon gasmitigation system. In some embodiments, the communication circuit mayinclude a first data communication circuit to receive the sensor signalsfrom the plurality of sensor modules and a second data communicationcircuit to transmit the sensor data to the data server. In someembodiments, the first communication circuit may include a wireless datacommunication circuit to wirelessly receive the sensor signals from theplurality of sensor modules over a wireless communication link. In someembodiments, the first communication circuit may include a wired datacommunication circuit to receive the sensor signals from the pluralityof sensor modules over a wired communication link. In some embodiments,the second communication circuit may include a cellular communicationcircuit to transmit the sensor data to the data server over a cellularnetwork.

Additionally, in some embodiments, the sensor controller may include adata storage, and the control circuit is to store the sensor signals inthe data storage. In some embodiments, the control circuit is togenerate the sensor data as a function of sensor signals received over areference time period. In some embodiments, a local alarm, and thecontrol circuit is to activate the local alarm in response to the sensordata being outside a reference threshold. In some embodiments, thecontrol circuit is to transmit, via the communication circuit, an alertto the data server in response to the sensor data being outside areference threshold. In some embodiments, a local alarm, and the controlcircuit is to activate the local alarm in response to an alarm conditiondetected by the control circuit. In some embodiments, the controlcircuit is to transmit, via the communication circuit, an alert to thedata server in response to detection of the alarm condition. In someembodiments, a battery backup, and the control circuit is configured toactivate the battery backup in response to a loss of main power to thesensor controller.

According to another aspect, a method for generating sensor dataindicative of a condition of an air contaminant mitigation system mayinclude receiving sensor signals from a plurality of sensor modulescoupled to the air contaminant mitigation system, the sensor signalsbeing indicative of a sensor condition of the air contaminant mitigationsystem; generating sensor data as a function of the sensor signals; andtransmitting the sensor data to a data server. In some embodiments,receiving sensor signals may include receiving sensor signals from aplurality of sensor modules coupled to at least one of a vapor intrusionmitigation system and a radon gas mitigation system. In someembodiments, transmitting the sensor data may include transmitting thesensor data from the sensor controller to the data server using acellular network. In some embodiments, the method may include storingthe sensor signals in a data storage of the sensor controller. In someembodiments, generating the sensor data may include generating thesensor data as a function of sensor signals received over a referencetime period. In some embodiments, the method may include activating alocal alarm of the sensor controller in response to the sensor databeing outside a reference threshold. In some embodiments, the method mayinclude transmitting, from the sensor controller to the data server, analert in response to the sensor data being outside a referencethreshold. In some embodiments, the method may include activating abattery backup of the sensor controller in response to detection of aloss of main power of the sensor controller.

According to another aspect, a data server for monitoring operation ofan air contaminant mitigation system may include a communicationcircuit; a processor; and a memory having stored therein a plurality ofinstructions that, in response to being executed by the processor, causethe data server to receive sensor data from a sensor controller usingthe communication circuit, the sensor data being indicative of a sensorcondition of the air contaminant mitigation system; generate informationas a function of the sensor data; and facilitate access to theinformation by a remote computing device.

In some embodiments, the air contaminant mitigation system may includeat least one of a vapor intrusion mitigation system and a radon gasmitigation system. In some embodiments, facilitate access to theinformation may include to transmit the information to the remotecomputing device. In some embodiments, to transmit the information mayinclude to periodically transmit the information based on the sensordata. In some embodiments, to transmit the information may include totransmit the information in response to a query received from the remotecomputing device. In some embodiments, to transmit the information mayinclude to transmit the information to the remote computing device as ashort message service (SMS) text message. In some embodiments, totransmit the information may include to transmit the information to theremote computing device over a network.

Additionally, in some embodiments, to facilitate access to theinformation may include to transmit the information to a cellular phoneover a cellular network. In some embodiments, to generate theinformation may include to generate the information based on sensor datareceived over a referenced time period. In some embodiments, theplurality of instructions, when executed by the processor, further causethe data server to generate a local alarm on the data server in responseto the sensor data being outside a reference threshold. In someembodiments, the plurality of instructions, when executed by theprocessor, further cause the data server to transmit an alert to theremote computing device in response to the sensor data being outside areference threshold. In some embodiments, the plurality of instructions,when executed by the processor, further cause the data server to monitoroperation of the sensor controller, and store operation data indicativeof the operation of the sensor controller on the data server. In someembodiments, plurality of instructions, when executed by the processor,further cause the data server to activate a local alarm of the dataserver in response to the operation data being outside a referencethreshold. In some embodiments, the plurality of instructions, whenexecuted by the processor, further cause the data server to generate areport based on the operation data, wherein the report indicates atleast an operation percentage indicative of the percentage of timeduring which the system was operational. In some embodiments, theplurality of instructions, when executed by the processor, further causethe data server to generate a report based on the sensor data.

According to another aspect, a method for monitoring operation of an aircontaminant mitigation system may include receiving, on an data server,sensor data from a sensor controller, the sensor data being indicativeof a sensor condition of the air contaminant mitigation system;generating, on the data server, information as a function of the sensordata; and facilitating, on the data server, access to the information bya remote computing device.

In some embodiments, receiving sensor data may include receiving sensordata indicative of a sensor condition of at least one of a vaporintrusion mitigation system and a radon gas mitigation system. In someembodiments, facilitating access to the information may includetransmitting the information from the data server to the remotecomputing device. In some embodiments, transmitting the information mayinclude periodically transmitting the information based on the sensordata. In some embodiments, transmitting the information may includetransmitting the information in response to a query received from theremote computing device. In some embodiments, transmitting theinformation may include transmitting the information to the remotecomputing device as a short message service (SMS) text message. In someembodiments, transmitting the information may include transmitting theinformation to the remote computing device over a network.

Additionally, in some embodiments, the method may include facilitatingaccess to the information may include transmitting the information to acellular phone over a cellular network. In some embodiments, generatingthe information may include generating the information based on sensordata received over a referenced time period. In some embodiments, themethod may include generating a local alarm on the data server inresponse to the sensor data being outside a reference threshold. In someembodiments, the method may include transmitting an alert to the remotecomputing device in response to the sensor data being outside areference threshold. In some embodiments, the method may includemonitoring, on the data server, operation of the sensor controller, andstoring operation data indicative of the operation of the sensorcontroller on the data server. In some embodiments, the method mayinclude generating a local alarm on the data server in response to theoperation data being outside a reference threshold. In some embodiments,the method may include generating a report based on the operation data,wherein the report indicates at least an operation percentage indicativeof the percentage of time during which the system was operational. Insome embodiments, the method may include generating a report based onthe sensor data.

According to another aspect, a system for monitoring operation of aircontaminant mitigation system may include an air contaminant mitigationsystem, a first sensor module coupled to the air contaminant mitigationsystem, and a second sensor module coupled to the air contaminantmitigation system. The system may further include a first sensorcontroller, a second sensor controller, and a data server. In someembodiments, the air contaminant mitigation system may be configured toexhaust vapors from a contaminated area to a designated area.Additionally, in such embodiments, the first sensor module be configuredto generate sensor signals indicative of a first sensor condition of theair contaminant mitigation system, and the second sensor module may beconfigured to generate sensor signals indicative of a second sensorcondition of the air contaminant mitigation system. In some embodiments,the first sensor controller may be configured receive the sensor signalsfrom the first sensor module and generate sensor data indicative of thesensor signals. Additionally, in some embodiments, the second sensorcontroller may be configured to receive the sensor signals from thesecond sensor module and generate sensor data indicative of the sensorsignals. In some embodiments, the data server may be configured toreceive the sensor data from the first and second sensor controllers,store the sensor data in a local database, and transmit informationbased on the sensor data to a remote computing device.

Additionally, in some embodiments, the first sensor controller mayinclude a first programmable logic controller, and the second sensorcontroller may include a second programmable logic controller. In someembodiments, to receive the sensor signals from the first sensor moduleand generate sensor data indicative of the sensor signals may include toexecute ladder logic for receiving the sensor signals from the firstsensor module and generating sensor data indicative of the sensorsignals. Additionally, to receive the sensor signals from the secondsensor module and generate sensor data indicative of the sensor signalsmay include to execute ladder logic for receiving the sensor signalsfrom the second sensor module and generating sensor data indicative ofthe sensor signals.

In some embodiments, to generate sensor signals indicative of a firstsensor condition of the air contaminant mitigation system may include tomeasure an amount of pressure in an air conduit. Additionally, tomeasure an amount of pressure in an air conduit may include to sense adifferential pressure of a vacuum source of the conduit relative to anindoor air pressure. In some embodiments, to measure an amount ofpressure in an air conduit may include to measure an amount of pressurein an air conduit between about zero inches of water column to aboutfive inches of water column. Additionally, to measure an amount ofpressure in an air conduit between about zero inches of water column toabout five inches of water column may include to measure an amount ofpressure in an air conduit between about zero inches of water column toabout five inches of water column with an accuracy of about plus orminus two percent. Additionally, in some embodiments, to measure anamount of pressure in an air conduit may include to measure an amount ofpressure in an air conduit between about zero inches of water column toabout twenty inches of water column. In some embodiments, to measure anamount of pressure in an air conduit between about zero inches of watercolumn to about twenty inches of water column may include to measure anamount of pressure in an air conduit between about zero inches of watercolumn to about twenty inches of water column with an accuracy of aboutplus or minus two percent.

Additionally, in some embodiments, to generate sensor signals indicativeof a first sensor condition of the air contaminant mitigation system mayinclude to generate sensor signals indicative of an amount of pressurein an air conduit. In some embodiments, to generate sensor signalsindicative of an amount of pressure in an air conduit may include togenerate analog sensor signals indicative of an amount of pressure in anair conduit. Additionally, in some embodiments, to receive the sensorsignals from the first sensor module may include to receive, from thefirst sensor module, the analog sensor signals indicative of the amountof pressure in an air conduit. Further, in some embodiments, the firstsensor controller further to convert the received analog sensor signalsindicative of the amount of pressure in an air conduit into engineeringunits. Additionally, in some embodiments, to convert the received analogsensor signals indicative of the amount of pressure in an air conduitinto engineering units may include to convert the received analog sensorsignals indicative of the amount of pressure in an air conduit intoinches of water column.

Additionally, in some embodiments, the first sensor controller togenerate an alarm condition in response to detecting an incoming loss ofpower. Further, in some embodiments, the first sensor controllerincludes a battery backup. In some embodiments, the battery backup toprovide power to the first sensor controller in response to detecting anincoming loss of power. Additionally, in some embodiments, the batterybackup may include a trickle charger. In some embodiments, the tricklecharger to recharge one or more batteries of the battery backup inresponse to at least one of a partial or a complete depletion of batterycharge from the incoming loss of power.

In some embodiments, the first sensor controller further to enable atleast one of a remote computer or a remote mobile communication deviceto remotely administer one or more settings of the first sensorcontroller. Additionally, in some embodiments to remotely administer oneor more settings of the first sensor controller may include to at leastone of modify or configure a reference alarm threshold.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

While the concepts of the present disclosure are susceptible to variousmodifications and alternative forms, specific exemplary embodimentsthereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and willherein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, thatthere is no intent to limit the concepts of the present disclosure tothe particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is tocover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling withinthe spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

In the following description, numerous specific details such as logicimplementations, opcodes, means to specify operands, resourcepartitioning/sharing/duplication implementations, types andinterrelationships of system components, and logicpartitioning/integration choices may be set forth in order to provide amore thorough understanding of the present disclosure. It will beappreciated, however, by one skilled in the art that embodiments of thedisclosure may be practiced without such specific details. In otherinstances, control structures, gate level circuits and full softwareinstruction sequences have not been shown in detail in order not toobscure the invention. Those of ordinary skill in the art, with theincluded descriptions, will be able to implement appropriatefunctionality without undue experimentation.

References in the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,”“an example embodiment,” etc., indicate that the embodiment describedmay include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, butevery embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature,structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarilyreferring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature,structure, or characteristic is described in connection with anembodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of oneskilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristicin connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitlydescribed.

Embodiments of the disclosed technologies may be implemented inhardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. Embodiments ofthe disclosed technologies implemented in a computer system may includeone or more bus-based interconnects between components and/or one ormore point-to-point interconnects between components. Embodiments of thedisclosed technologies may also be implemented as instructions carriedby or stored on a transitory or non-transitory machine-readable storagemedium, which may be read and executed by one or more processors. Amachine-readable storage medium may be embodied as any device,mechanism, or physical structure for storing or transmitting informationin a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computing device). For example,a machine-readable medium may be embodied as read only memory (ROM);random access memory (RAM); magnetic disk storage media; optical storagemedia; flash memory devices; mini- or micro-SD cards, memory sticks, andothers.

In the drawings, specific arrangements or orderings of schematicelements, such as those representing devices, modules, instructionblocks and data elements, may be shown for ease of description. However,it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the specificordering or arrangement of the schematic elements in the drawings is notmeant to imply that a particular order or sequence of processing, orseparation of processes, is required. Further, the inclusion of aschematic element in a drawing is not meant to imply that such elementis required in all embodiments or that the features represented by suchelement may not be included in or combined with other elements in someembodiments.

In general, schematic elements used to represent instruction blocks maybe implemented using any suitable form of machine-readable instruction,such as software or firmware applications, programs, functions, modules,routines, processes, procedures, plug-ins, applets, widgets, codefragments and/or others, and that each such instruction may beimplemented using any suitable programming language, library,application programming interface (API), and/or other softwaredevelopment tools. For example, some embodiments may be implementedusing Java, C++, ladder logic, and/or other programming languages.

Similarly, schematic elements used to represent data or information maybe implemented using any suitable electronic arrangement or structure,such as a register, data store, table, record, array, index, hash, map,tree, list, graph, file (of any file type), folder, directory, database,and/or others.

Further, in the drawings, where connecting elements, such as solid ordashed lines or arrows, are used to illustrate a connection,relationship or association between or among two or more other schematicelements, the absence of any such connecting elements is not meant toimply that no connection, relationship or association can exist. Inother words, some connections, relationships or associations betweenelements may not be shown in the drawings so as not to obscure thedisclosure. Also, for ease of illustration, a single connecting elementmay be used to represent multiple connections, relationships orassociations between elements. For example, where a connecting elementrepresents a communication of signals, data or instructions, it shouldbe understood by those skilled in the art that such element mayrepresent one or multiple signal paths (e.g., a bus), as may be needed,to effect the communication.

Herein, alphanumeric characters and/or mathematical symbols, or acombination thereof, may be used to represent data values, variables,coefficients, functions, equations or portions thereof. It should beunderstood that once defined, a character or symbol may be repeatedthroughout the disclosure, and that, unless otherwise stated, suchrepeated instances of a character or symbol refer to the same characteror symbol as initially defined.

Referring now to FIG. 1, in one embodiment a system 100 for monitoringoperation of an air contaminant mitigation system 102 includes a sensormodule 104, a sensor controller 106, and an operation monitor dataserver 108. The air contaminant mitigation system 102 may be embodied asany type of air contaminant mitigation system capable of being monitoredby the system 100. For example, the mitigation system 102 may embodiedas a vapor intrusion mitigation system, a radon gas mitigation system,or other air contaminant mitigation system. As such, although the aircontaminant mitigation system 102 is described below, in some sections,as a vapor mitigation system, it should be appreciated that the aircontaminant mitigation system 102 may be used with other types ofmitigation systems including, but not limited to, radon mitigationsystems.

The air contaminant mitigation system 102 may be installed at alocation, such as a business or residential building, to mitigate theintrusion of harmful vapors and/or other air contaminants (e.g., radongas) into the workplace or living space from contaminated soil orgroundwater located under or near the location. In the illustrativeembodiment, air contaminant mitigation system 102 includes an airconduit 120, which is sunk into the contaminated area 122 (e.g., intothe contaminated soil or ground water). In some embodiments, the airconduit 120 may be located within the building to be rehabilitated. Insuch embodiments, the air conduit 120 may extend through the foundationof the rehabilitated building to reach the contaminated area 122. Theair contaminant mitigation system 102 also includes an exhaust fan 124pneumatically coupled to the air conduit 120 to exhaust harmful vaporsgenerated by the contaminated area 122 to a location outside therehabilitated building.

The sensor module 104 is coupled to the air contaminant mitigationsystem 102 and configured to monitor or detect sensor conditions of thesystem 102. Such sensor conditions may include any condition of the aircontaminant mitigation system 102 detectable by a corresponding suitablesensor. For example, such sensor conditions may include operationalparameters of the exhaust fan 124 (e.g., whether the exhaust fan isworking), operational parameters of the air conduit 120 (e.g., whether aproper pressure is maintained in the air conduit 120 by thecorresponding exhaust fan 124), and/or parameters of the air containedin an air conduit 120 (e.g., the type of gas(es) present in the aircontained within the air conduit 120).

The sensor module 104 generates sensor signals indicative of the sensorconditions of the system 102 and transmits the sensor signals, or sensordata indicative thereof, to the sensor controller 106 over acommunication link 116. The communication link 116 may be embodied as awired or wireless communication link as discussed in more detail below.

Referring now to FIG. 2, in one embodiment, the sensor module 104includes one of more sensors 200 and a communication circuit 202. Thesensor(s) 200 may be embodied as any type of sensor to detect orotherwise monitor a sensor condition of the air contaminant mitigationsystem 102. For example, in embodiments in which the sensor module 104is coupled to an exhaust fan 124, the sensor(s) 200 may be embodied as acurrent sensor coupled to a power path, cable, or connection of theexhaust fan 124 to detect the amount of current used by the exhaust fan124 to thereby infer whether the exhaust fan 124 is operational (e.g.,whether the exhaust fan 124 is on/off). Alternatively, in suchembodiments, the sensor(s) 200 may be embodied as an optical sensor,airflow sensor, camera, or other sensor capable of detecting theoperational state of the corresponding exhaust fan 124. In embodimentsin which the sensor module 104 is coupled to an air conduit 120, thesensor(s) 200 may be embodied as any type of sensor capable detecting orotherwise monitoring a parameter of the air conduit 120. For example, insome embodiments, the sensor(s) 200 may be embodied as a pressure sensorto monitor the air pressure within the air conduit 120 to infer whethera proper pressure is being maintained therein by the correspondingexhaust fan 124. To do so, the sensor(s) 200 may measure thedifferential pressure of a vacuum source (e.g., a fan, a pump, or anyother vacuum source) compared to the indoor air pressure. In someembodiments, the sensor(s) 200 may be configured to measure pressurewithin a range from about zero inches of water column to about fiveinches of water column with an accuracy of about plus or minus twopercent. In other embodiments, the sensor(s) 200 may be configured tomeasure pressure within a range from about zero inches of water columnto about twenty inches of water column with an accuracy of about plus orminus two percent. In other embodiments, the sensor(s) 200 may beembodied as a gas sensor to detect the presence and/or magnitude of aparticular type of gas present in the air conduit 120. Of course, insome embodiments, the sensor module 104 may include a plurality ofsensors 200, each of a different type (e.g., a current sensor, apressure sensor, and a gas sensor).

As discussed above, the sensor(s) 200 generate sensor signals indicativeof the corresponding monitored sensor condition of the air contaminantmitigation system 102, which are provided to the communication circuit202. For example, in embodiments in which the sensor(s) 200 sensepressure, the sensor(s) 200 may encode the sensed pressures into ananalog format (e.g., 4-20 mA DC, 0-5 VDC, 0-10 VDC, etc.). Subsequently,the sensed pressures encoded in analog format are provided to thecommunication circuit 202. The communication circuit 202 subsequentlytransmits the sensor signals to the sensor controller 106 over thecommunication link 116. In the illustrative embodiment, thecommunication circuit 202 is embodied as a wireless communicationcircuit configured to wirelessly transmit the sensor signals over thewireless communication link 116. In such embodiments, the communicationcircuit 202 may use any suitable communication protocol to wirelesslytransmit the sensor signals to the sensor controller 106 including, forexample, ZigBee®, Wi-Fi™, Z-Wave™, Bluetooth®, infrared, and/or otherwireless communication protocols or technologies (e.g., non-licensedcommunications, spread spectrum, frequency hopping, frequency-hoppingspread spectrum, and/or the like). Alternatively, in embodiments inwhich the communication link 116 is embodied as a wired communicationlink, the communication circuit 202 may be embodied as a wiredcommunication circuit configured to transmit the sensor signals over thewired communication link 116. In such embodiments, the communicationcircuit 202 may use any suitable wired communication protocol totransmit the sensor signals to the sensor controller 106 including, forexample, Ethernet. Additionally, in some embodiments, the communicationcircuit 202 may transmit the sensor signals in-real time, near realtime, periodically, or in response to a query from the sensor controller106.

In some embodiments, the sensor module 104 may also include an alarmcircuit 204. In such embodiments, the alarm circuit 204 is configured tomonitor the sensor signals generated by the sensor(s) 200 and activate alocal alarm in response to the generated sensor signals being outside areference threshold (e.g., the current drawn by an exhaust fan beingless than a reference current threshold, the pressure established in theair conduit 120 being less than a reference pressure threshold, etc.).Such local alarm may include, for example, an audible (e.g., a buzzer)or visual (e.g., a blinking light) alarm. In some embodiments, thesensor module 104 may be configured to transmit an alert to the sensorcontroller 106 in the event of such an alarm.

Referring now back to FIG. 1, the sensor controller 106 receives sensorsignals from the sensor module 104. As discussed above, the sensormodule 104 may transmit the sensor signals to the sensor controller 106via wireless or wired communication. The sensor controller 106 generatessensor data based on the received sensor signals and transmits thesensor data to the operation monitor data server 108 over a network 110.The sensor controller 106 may be embodied as any type of controller orcontrol circuit including, for example, a process automation computer, aprogrammable logic controller, a computer, a laptop computer, a server,and/or other computing device. The network 110 may be embodied as anytype of data network capable of facilitating communications between thesensor controller 106 and the operation monitor data server 108. In theillustrative embodiment, the network 110 is embodied as, or otherwiseincludes, a cellular data network (e.g., a GSM cellular data network, aCDMA cellular data network, an LTE cellular data network, and/or thelike) over which the sensor controller 106 transmits the sensor data tothe operation monitor data server 108. Of course, in other embodiments,the network 110 may be embodied as other types of networks capable offacilitating communication between the sensor controller 106 and theoperation monitor data server 108 depending, for example, on thelocation of the operation monitor data server 108 relative to the sensorcontroller 106.

Referring now to FIG. 3, in the illustrative embodiment, the sensorcontroller 106 includes a communication circuit 300 and a controlcircuit 302. The communication circuit 300 may be embodied as any typeof communication circuit capable of communicating with the sensor module104 and the operation monitor data server 108. For example, in theillustrative embodiment of FIG. 3, the communication circuit 300includes a data communication circuit 304 to receive the sensor signalstransmitted by the sensor module 104. The data communication circuit 304may be embodied as a wireless or wired data communication link dependingon, for example, the type of communication link 116 used to communicatedata between the sensor module 104 and the sensor controller 106. Forexample, in embodiments in which the communication link 116 is embodiedas a wireless communication link, the data communication circuit 304 maybe embodied as a wireless data communication circuit and may use anysuitable wireless communication protocol to communicate with the sensormodule 104 including, for example, ZigBee®, Wi-Fi™, Z-Wave®, Bluetooth®,infrared, and/or other wireless communication protocols or technologies(e.g., non-licensed communications, spread spectrum, frequency hopping,frequency-hopping spread spectrum, and/or the like). Alternatively, inembodiments in which the communication link is embodied as a wiredcommunication link, the data communication circuit 304 may be embodiedas a wired data communication circuit and may use any suitable wiredcommunication protocol to communicate with the sensor module 104including, for example, Ethernet, and/or other wired communicationprotocols. Although illustratively shown as being separate from thecontrol circuit 302, the data communication circuit 304 may form aportion of, or be integrated with, the control circuit 302 in someembodiments.

The communication circuit 300 also illustratively includes a cellularcommunication circuit 306 to communicate the sensor data to theoperation monitor data server 108 over the network 110. To do so, thecellular communication circuit 306 may utilize any suitable cellulardata communications protocol (e.g., a GSM cellular communications, CDMAcellular communications, LTE cellular communications, and/or other typesof cellular communications). In such embodiments, the cellularcommunication circuit 306 may also be configured to enable the sensorcontroller 106 to be polled via the network 110 using cellularcommunication protocols. Of course, in other embodiments, thecommunication circuit 300 may include other or additional communicationcircuits to facilitate communication between the sensor controller 106and the sensor module 104 and/or operation monitor data server 108.Again, although illustratively shown as being separate from the controlcircuit 302, the cellular communication circuit 306 may form a portionof, or be integrated with, the control circuit 302 in some embodiments.

The control circuit 302 of the sensor controller 106 is configured toreceive the sensor signals from the communication circuit 300 andgenerate sensor data based on the sensor signals. The sensor data may beembodied as the sensor signals themselves or as data generated as afunction of the sensor signals. For example, in some embodiments, thegenerated sensor data may be embodied as samples of the sensor signals,as averages of the sensor signals over referenced time periods, or otherdata representative of or otherwise indicative of the sensor signals.Additionally, in some embodiments, the sensor data may be an aggregationof sensor signals from multiple sensor modules 104 as discussed in moredetail below. In some embodiments, the control circuit 302 may receive apressure sensed by one of the sensors 200 in an analog format (e.g.,4-20 mA DC, 0-5 VDC, 0-10 VDC, etc.). In such embodiments, the controlcircuit 302 may be configured to convert the pressure in the analogformat to a different format for display. For example, in someembodiments, the control circuit 302 may be configured to convert analogpressure signals into engineering units (e.g., inches of water column,etc.). In some embodiments, the control circuit 302 may also beconfigured to facilitate the remote administration of the sensorcontroller 106. For example, the control circuit 302 may enable theremote administration (e.g., adjust pressure inside of the conduit 120,adjust the speed of the exhaust fan 124, turn on/off the exhaustfan/vacuum source 124, adjust differentials and set points, adjust orset reference alarm thresholds, change the operational state of theexhaust fan 124, and/or remotely manage any other setting,configuration, or operating condition of a component of the system 100).

The control circuit 302 may be embodied as any type of control circuitcapable of performing the functions described herein including, but notlimited to, a programmable logic controller. In the illustrativeembodiment, the control circuit 302 includes a processor 310, a memory312, and a data storage 314. Of course, the control circuit 302 mayinclude additional or other components, such as those commonly found ina control circuit or computer. The processor 310 may be embodied as anytype of processor capable of performing the functions described herein.For example, in some embodiments, the processor 310 may be embodied asor otherwise include a special-purpose processor or microcontroller or ageneral-purpose processor capable of executing software/firmware. Insuch embodiments, the processor 310 may be embodied as a single coreprocessor or a multi-core processor having multiple processor cores inother embodiments.

The memory 312 of the sensor controller 106 may be embodied as orotherwise include one or more memory devices or data storage locationsincluding, for example, dynamic random access memory devices (DRAM),synchronous dynamic random access memory devices (SDRAM), double-datarate synchronous dynamic random access memory device (DDR SDRAM), maskread-only memory (ROM) devices, erasable programmable ROM (EPROM),electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM) devices, flash memorydevices, and/or other volatile and/or non-volatile memory devices.Although only a single memory 312 is illustrated in FIG. 3, the sensorcontroller 106 may include additional memory devices in otherembodiments. Various data and software may be stored in the memory 312including, for example, one or more operating systems, applications,programs, libraries, and/or drivers.

The data storage 314 may be embodied as any type of device or devicesconfigured for the short-term or long-term storage of data such as, forexample, memory devices and circuits, memory cards, hard disk drives,solid-state drives, or other data storage devices. In use, the controlcircuit 302 may store the received sensor signals and/or the generatedsensor data, as well as other operational data, in the data storage 314.

In some embodiments, the sensor controller 106 may also include a localalarm 320. The local alarm 320 may be embodied as an audible, visual, ortactile alarm. In such embodiments, the control circuit 302 may beconfigured to activate the local alarm 320 in response to one or morealarm conditions. Such alarm conditions may be based on the receivedsensor signals, the generated sensor data, and/or communications (orlack thereof) from the sensor modules 104. For example, in someembodiments, the sensor controller 106 may activate the local alarm 320in response to the received sensor signals or generated data beingoutside a referenced threshold (e.g., the sensor signals indicative ofthe air pressure within an air conduit is below a reference threshold,the generated sensor data is below an average threshold, etc.).Additionally or alternatively, the control circuit 302 may activate thelocal alarm 320 in response to an alert received from one of the sensormodules 104. Further, the control circuit 302 may activate the localalarm 320 if an expected communication is not received from a sensormodule 104. For example, in some embodiments, the sensor modules 104 maybe configured to periodically send the sensor signals to the sensorcontroller 106. If the sensor controller 106 does not receive suchcommunication at the expected time, the sensor controller 106 may inferthat the sensor module 104 is inoperable. In other embodiments, thesensor modules 104 may transmit a “heartbeat” signal to the sensorcontroller 106, which may determine whether the sensor module 104 isoperable or inoperable based on receipt of such “heartbeat” signals. Insome embodiments, the control circuit 302 may activate a local alarm inresponse to sensing an in incoming power loss. For example, the sensorcontroller 106 may be configured to detect the loss of incoming A/Cmains power (or D/C power if operating on battery power or another powersource).

Additionally, in some embodiments, the sensor controller 106 may includea battery backup 330. In such embodiments, the battery backup 330 maysupply power to the sensor controller 106 in the event that a main powersupply to the sensor controller 106 is lost. In some embodiments, thebattery backup 330 may supply power only to pre-defined circuits of thesensor controller 106. For example, in some embodiments, the batterybackup 330 may supply power to control circuit 302 to allow activationof the local alarm 320 and/or to the communication circuit 300 to allowthe transmission of an alert to the operation monitor data server 108.The battery backup 330 may also be configured to supply power to aportion or all of the components of the sensor controller 106 for areference amount of time. For example, the battery backup 330 may beconfigured to supply power to all of the components (or a portionthereof) for five minutes (or any other amount of time). To do so, thebattery backup 330 may include or may otherwise be coupled to one ormore batteries, which may be configured to supply power to all or aportion of the components of the sensor controller 106 for the referenceamount of time. Additionally, in some embodiments, the sensor controller106 (and/or the battery backup 330 itself) may include a trickle batterycharger to recharge (if mains power exists) one or more batteries (e.g.,one or more gelled electrolyte batteries and/or any other type ofbattery) of the battery backup 330 in response to partial or completecharge depletion resulting from a power loss event.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the operation monitor data server 108 receivesthe sensor data from the sensor controller 106 over the network 110. Theoperation monitor data server 108 is configured to record and store thesensor data and facilitate access to the sensor data by one or moreremote devices, such as a remote mobile communication device 112 and/ora remote computer 114. Additionally, in some embodiments, the operationmonitor data server 108 generates operational data (e.g., the length of“in-operation-time” of the air contaminant mitigation system 102) basedon the sensor data and/or other data. The operation monitor data server108 may generate reports based on the sensor data and/or operation data.Such reports may be required by various local and federal agencies tovalidate proper vapor intrusion mitigation of the rehabilitatedlocation. Although shown in FIG. 1 as monitoring a single aircontaminant mitigation system 102, the operation monitor data server 108may monitor multiple air contaminant mitigation systems 102 located atthe same or different monitored sites (e.g., located in differentbuildings).

The operation monitor data server 108 may facilitate access to thesensor and/or operation data by transmitting such data to the remotemobile communication device 112 and/or the remote computer 114 over thenetwork 110 and/or providing a web portal from which such data may beaccessed (see, e.g., FIGS. 10-14). The remote mobile communicationdevice 112 may be embodied as any type of mobile communication devicesuch as a smart phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), laptopcomputer, mobile internet device (MID), or other mobile communicationdevice. Similarly, the remote computer 114 may be embodied as any typeof computer such as a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a server, asmart appliance, and/or other computing device. As discussed in moredetail below, the operation monitor data server 108 may transmit thesensor and/or operation data to the remote mobile communication device112 and/or the remote computer 114 as an c-mail, voice-mail, textmessage, or other message capable of being transmitted over the network110.

As shown in FIG. 4, the illustrative operation monitor data server 108includes a processor 400, an I/O subsystem 402, a memory 404, a datastorage 406, a communication circuitry 408, and one or more peripheraldevices 410. In some embodiments, several of the foregoing componentsmay be incorporated on a motherboard or main board of the operationmonitor data server 108, while other components may be communicativelycoupled to the motherboard via, for example, a peripheral port.Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the operation monitor dataserver 108 may include other components, sub-components, and devicescommonly found in a computer and/or server, which are not illustrated inFIG. 4 for clarity of the description.

The processor 400 of the operation monitor data server 108 may beembodied as any type of processor capable of executingsoftware/firmware, such as a microprocessor, digital signal processor,microcontroller, or the like. The processor 400 is illustrativelyembodied as a single core processor. However, in other embodiments, theprocessor 400 may be embodied as a multi-core processor having multipleprocessor cores. Additionally, the operation monitor data server 108 mayinclude additional processors 400 having one or more processor cores inother embodiments.

The I/O subsystem 402 of the operation monitor data server 108 may beembodied as circuitry and/or components to facilitate input/outputoperations with the processor 400 and/or other components of theoperation monitor data server 108. In some embodiments, the I/Osubsystem 402 may be embodied as a memory controller hub (MCH or“northbridge”), an input/output controller hub (ICH or “southbridge”),and a firmware device. In other embodiments, the I/O subsystem 402 maybe embodied as a platform controller hub (PCH). In such embodiments, thememory controller hub (MCH) may be incorporated in or otherwiseassociated with the processor 400, and the processor 400 may communicatedirectly with the memory 404.

The processor 400 is communicatively coupled to the I/O subsystem 402via a number of signal paths. Those signal paths (and other signal pathsillustrated in FIG. 4) may be embodied as any type of signal pathscapable of facilitating communication between the various components ofthe operation monitor data server 108. For example, the signal paths maybe embodied as any number of point-to-point links, wires, cables, lightguides, printed circuit board traces, vias, bus, intervening devices,and/or the like.

The memory 404 of the operation monitor data server 108 may be embodiedas, or otherwise include, one or more memory devices or data storagelocations including, for example, dynamic random access memory devices(DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory devices (SDRAM),double-data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory device (DDRSDRAM), mask read-only memory (ROM) devices, erasable programmable ROM(EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM) devices, flashmemory devices, and/or other volatile and/or non-volatile memorydevices. The memory 404 is communicatively coupled to the I/O subsystem402 via a number of signal paths. Although only a single memory device404 is illustrated in FIG. 4, the operation monitor data server 108 mayinclude additional memory devices in other embodiments. Various data andsoftware may be stored in the memory 404. For example, one or moreoperating systems, applications, programs, libraries, and drivers thatmake up the software stack executed by the processor 400 may reside inmemory 404 during execution.

The data storage 406 may be embodied as any type of device or devicesconfigured for the short-term or long-term storage of data such as, forexample, memory devices and circuits, memory cards, hard disk drives,solid-state drives, or other data storage devices. In the illustrativeembodiment, the operation monitor data server 108 stores the receivedsensor data and generated operation data in the data storage 406.

The communication circuitry 408 of the operation monitor data server 108may include any number of devices and circuitry for enablingcommunications between the operation monitor data server 108 and thesensor controller 106, the remote mobile communication device 112, andthe remote computer 114. The communication circuitry 408 may beconfigured to use any one or more communication technology andassociated protocols to communicate with the other devices of the system100.

In some embodiments, the operation monitor data server 108 may alsoinclude one or more peripheral devices 410. Such peripheral devices 410may be embodied as any type of peripheral device commonly found in acomputer or sever. For example, the peripheral devices 410 may include akeyboard, display, mouse, audio device, and/or other components.

Although the illustrative system 100 has been illustrated in FIG. 1 anddescribed above as having a single sensor module 104 and sensorcontroller 106, it should be appreciated that the system 100 may includeadditional sensor modules 104 and sensor controllers 106 depending on,for example, the particular type and/or implementation of the system 100(e.g., the size and complexity of the air contaminant mitigation system102 to be monitored). For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the system 100may include a plurality of sensor modules 104, each of which may beconnected to the same or different air conduits 120 and/or exhaust fans124. For example, in some embodiments, the air contaminant mitigationsystem 102 may include a plurality of air conduits 120, each of whichmay have a corresponding exhaust fan 124 coupled thereto. In suchembodiments, a separate sensor module 104 may be coupled to each exhaustfan 124 and/or each air conduit 120 to detect sensor conditions of theair contaminant mitigation system 102 as discussed above. In theillustrative embodiment of FIG. 5, each sensor module 104 transmits thesensor signals (or sensor data) to the same sensor controller 106 viathe communication link 116, which may be embodied as a wired or wirelesscommunication link. That is, a single sensor controller 106 may beconfigured to monitor sensor signals generated from a plurality ofsensor modules 104 coupled to the same or different components of theair contaminant mitigation system 102.

Additionally, in some embodiments, the system 100 may include multiplesensor controllers 106 as shown in FIG. 6. For example, inimplementations including a large number of sensor modules 104 and/orwherein the sensor modules 104 are located from each other by a largedistance, a plurality of sensor controllers 106 may be used to monitorthe sensor modules 104. As such, some of the sensor modules 104 may beconfigured to communicate sensor signals and/or data to one of thesensor controller 106, and other sensor modules 104 may be configured tocommunicate sensor signals and/or data to another sensor controller 106.Again, such communications may be embodied as wired or wirelesscommunications depending on the type of communication link 116 used tocommunicate such data. Each of the sensor modules 104 is configured totransmit the sensor data to the operation monitor data server 108 overthe network 110 as discussed above. Further, in some embodiments, thesystem 100 may include multiple operation monitor data servers 108,which may receive data from the same or different sensor controllers106. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that the system 100 mayinclude one or more sensor modules 104, one or more sensor controllers106, and/or one or more operation monitor data servers 108 depending onthe specific implementation (e.g., the type, size, and/or complexity ofthe air contaminant mitigation system 102).

For example, one illustrative system 100 including multiple sensorcontrollers 106 is shown in FIG. 7. The illustrative system 100 of FIG.7 includes a primary sensor controller 710 and a secondary sensorcontroller 720. The primary sensor controller 710 and the secondarysensor controller 720 (or any other sensor controller 106) may beembodied as any type of controller or control circuit including, forexample, a process automation computer, a programmable logic controller(PLC), a computer, a laptop computer, a server, and/or other computingdevice. For example, in some embodiments, one or more of the primarysensor controller 710, the secondary sensor controller 720, and/or anyother sensor controller 106 may be embodied or otherwise include a PLChaving an integrated human-machine interface (e.g., built-in display,control panel, keyboard, touch screen, and/or any other type ofhuman-machine interface for displaying data or controlling the PLC) suchas for example, the Vision120™ PLC (Part No. V120-22-R1), which iscommercially available from Unitronics, Ltd. of Israel. In suchembodiments, some of the sensor modules 104 may be configured tocommunicate sensor signals and/or data to the primary sensor controller710, and other sensor modules 104 may be configured to communicatesensor signals and/or data to the secondary sensor controller 720. Suchcommunications may be embodied as wired or wireless communicationsdepending on the type of communication link 116 used to communicate suchdata. Each of the sensor modules 104 is configured to transmit thesensor data to one of the sensor controllers 106 (e.g., the primarysensor controller 710 and/or the secondary sensor controller 720) and/orto the operation monitor data server 108 over the network 110 asdiscussed above. Of course, it should be appreciated that the system 100may include any number of sensor modules 104, any number of sensorcontrollers 106, and/or any number of operation monitor data servers 108depending on the specific implementation (e.g., the type, size, and/orcomplexity of the air contaminant mitigation system 102). Additionally,it should be appreciated that the primary sensor controller 710 and thesecondary sensor controller 720 may be embodiments of the sensorscontrollers 106 and, as a result, may include components andfunctionality similar to that which was described above in regard to thesensor controllers 106.

In some embodiments, the primary sensor controller 710 may be embodiedas a master programmable logic controller (PLC) and the secondary sensorcontroller 720 may be embodied as a slave PLC. In such embodiments, theprimary sensor controller 710 may communicate with the secondary sensorcontroller 720 via wired or wireless communications. In embodimentswherein the primary sensor controller 710 and the secondary sensorcontroller 720 communicate via wireless communications, the primarysensor controller 710 and secondary sensor controller 720 may use anysuitable wireless communication protocol, technology, and/or circuitryto communicate (e.g., non-licensed communications, spread spectrum,frequency hopping, frequency-hopping spread spectrum, and/or the like).For example, in some embodiments, the primary sensor controller 710 andthe secondary sensor controller 720 may use wireless protocols such asZigBee, Wi-Fi™, Z-Wave®, Bluetooth®, infrared, and/or the like forcommunications. In some embodiments, one or more of the primary sensorcontroller 710, the secondary sensor controller 720, and/or any othersensor controller 106 may include wireless communication circuitryconfigured with frequency-hopping spread spectrum communicationfunctionality such as, for example, the DX80DR9M-H MultiHop 900 MhzRadio (Part No. 11431) and/or the DX80DR9M-HB1 Radio Board (Part No.17420), which are commercially available from Banner Engineering Corp.of Minneapolis, Minn. In some embodiments, one or more of the primarysensor controller 710 and the secondary sensor controller 720 may alsocommunicate with one or more of the sensors modules 104 using suchwireless communication protocols.

In embodiments wherein the primary sensor controller 710 and thesecondary sensor controller 720 communicate via wired communications,the primary sensor controller 710 and the secondary sensor controller720 may use any suitable wired communication protocol or technology tocommunicate (e.g., Ethernet, power line networking, etc.). In oneembodiment, the primary sensor controller 710 and the secondary sensorcontroller 720 may communicate with each other via a serialcommunications protocol such as, for example, the Modbus protocol and/orany other suitable master/slave protocol. To do so, the primary sensorcontroller 710 may be communicatively coupled to the secondary sensorcontroller 720 via a hardwired network connection such as, for examplean RS-485 connection. Of course, it should be appreciated that any othertype of hardwired network connection may be used to communicativelycouple the primary sensor controller 710 to the secondary sensorcontroller 720. Additionally, it should be appreciated that the primarysensor controller 710 may be communicatively coupled to any number ofsecondary sensor controllers 720. For example, in some embodiments, theprimary sensor controller 710 may be communicatively coupled to morethan one secondary sensor controller 720. For example, in oneembodiment, the primary sensor controller 710 may be communicativelycoupled to up to nine secondary sensor controllers 720. Of course, itshould be appreciated that the primary sensor controller 710 may becommunicatively coupled to any number of secondary sensor controllers720. Additionally, in some embodiments, one or more of the primarysensor controller 710 and the secondary sensor controller 720 may alsocommunicate with one or more of the sensors 104 using such wiredcommunication protocols.

Additionally, in some embodiments, one or more of the primary sensorcontroller 710, the secondary sensor controller 720, and/or any othersensor controller 106 may be configured to communicate (e.g., transmitsensor data, receive remote commands, etc.) with one or more of theoperation monitor data server 108, the remote mobile communicationdevice 112, and/or the remote computer 114 via the network, which asdiscussed above, may be embodied as, or otherwise include, a cellulardata network (e.g., a GSM cellular data network, a CDMA cellular datanetwork, an LTE cellular data network, and/or the like). In suchembodiments, one or more of the primary sensor controller 710, thesecondary sensor controller 720, and/or any other sensor controller 106may include cellular communication circuitry (e.g., the cellularcommunication circuit 306) such as, for example, the quad-band GPRS/GSMkit (Part No. GSM-KIT-41J), which is commercially available fromUnitronics Ltd. of Israel, for communicating via the cellular network.

Referring now to FIG. 8, in use, each sensor module 104 of the system100 may execute a method 800 for generating sensor signals indicative ofa condition of the air contaminant mitigation system 102. The method 800begins with block 802 in which the sensor module 104 is initialized.That is, the sensor module 104 may perform initial validation checks toensure proper operation of the sensors 200 and/or communication circuit202. Subsequently, in block 804, the sensor signals are received fromeach of the sensor 200. That is, the sensors 200 generate sensor signalsin block 806 in response to the corresponding monitored condition of theair contaminant mitigation system 102, which are received by thecommunication circuit 202. As discussed above, the type of sensorsignals generated in block 806 may depend on the type of sensor and theparticular sensor condition being monitored. In embodiments in which thesensor(s) 200 is embodied as a current sensor, the sensor signals may beembodied as current measurements (e.g., current amplitude).Alternatively, in embodiments in which the current sensor(s) 200 isembodied as an air pressure sensor, the sensor signals may be embodiedas pressure measurements.

Regardless, in block 608, the sensor signals are transmitted to thesensor controller 106 via the communication circuit 202. As discussedabove, in some embodiments, the sensor module 104 may transmit thesensor signals in real-time or near real-time. Alternatively, the sensormodule 104 may periodically transmit the sensor signals to the sensorcontroller 106. Additionally, in some embodiments, the sensor module 104may transmit the sensor signals to the sensor controller 106 in responseto receipt of a query from the sensor controller 106.

In some embodiments, the method 800 may also include block 810 in whichthe sensor module 104 determines whether the sensor signals are outsidea reference threshold. To do so, the sensor module 104 may compare thesensor signals (e.g., in real-time or near real-time) to a pre-definedthreshold value. If the sensor signals are within the threshold, themethod 800 loops back to block 804 in which additional sensor signalsare received. However, if one or more sensor signals are determined tobe outside the reference threshold in block 810, the method 800 advancesto block 812 in which the sensor module 104 may activate the local alarmusing the alarm circuit 204. Additionally, as discussed above, thesensor module 104 may transmit an alert to the sensor controller 106 tonotify the sensor controller 106 of the alarm condition in someembodiments. As discussed above, the local alarm may be embodied as anaudible alarm (e.g., a buzzer), a visual alarm (e.g., a blinking light),or other alarm capable to bring attention to the sensor module 104.

Referring now to FIG. 9, in use, each sensor controller 106 isconfigured to execute a method 900 for generating sensor data indicativeof a condition of an air contaminant mitigation system 102. The method900 begins with block 902 in which the sensor controller 106 isinitialized. That is, the sensor controller 106 may perform initialvalidation checks to ensure proper operation of the communicationcircuit 300 and/or control circuit 302. Subsequently, in block 904, thesensor controller 106 determines whether any sensor signals have beenreceived from one or more sensor modules 104. If so, the method 900advances to block 906 in which the sensor controller 106 generatessensor data based on the sensor signals. In some embodiments, the sensordata may be embodied as, or directly represent, the sensor signals. Inother embodiments, the sensor data may be indicative of the sensorsignals (e.g., an average of the received sensor signals over areferenced time period, an aggregation value of the sensor signals,etc.). In some embodiments, the sensor controller may store thegenerated sensor data in the local data storage 314 in block 908.

In block 910, the sensor controller 106 determines whether to transmitthe sensor data to the operation monitor data server 108. In someembodiments, the sensor controller 106 may continually transmit thesensor data to the operation monitor data server 108. Alternatively, asdiscussed above, the sensor controller 106 may periodically transmit thesensor data to the operation monitor data server 108. Additionally, insome embodiments, the sensor controller 106 may transmit the sensor datato the operation monitor data server 108 in response to a query receivedfrom the server 108. Regardless, if it is determined to transmit thesensor data in block 910, the method 900 advances to block 912 in whichthe sensor controller 106 transmits the sensor data to the operationmonitor data server 108. The method subsequently loops back to block 904to receive additional sensor signals from the sensor modules 104.

In some embodiments, the sensor controller 106 may be configured todetect an alarm condition based on the sensor signals and/orcommunications (or lack thereof) received from the sensor modules 104.In such embodiments, the method 900 may also advance from block 906, 908to block 914 in which the sensor controller 106 determines whether analarm condition is present. As discussed above, such determination maybe based on the sensor signals received from the sensor modules 104, thesensor data generated (and/or stored) by the sensor controller 106,and/or on the communications received from the sensor modules 104. Forexample, in some embodiments, the sensor controller 106 may compare thereceived sensor signals to a pre-defined threshold value to determinewhether the sensor signals (or sensor data) is within an acceptablerange or otherwise at an acceptable value. Additionally oralternatively, the sensor controller 106 may compare the generatedsensor data to a pre-defined threshold value (e.g., an expected averagevalue) to determine whether the sensor modules 104 are functioningproperly over time. Additionally, in some embodiments, the sensorcontroller 106 may determine that an alarm condition is occurring if notransmission is received from the sensor module 104 within an expectedtime period or if an alert is received from the sensor module 104 asdiscussed above. In some embodiments, the sensor controller 106 may beconfigured to detect an alarm condition based on sensing an incomingpower loss. For example, the sensor controller 106 may be configured todetect the loss of incoming A/C mains power (or D/C power if operatingon battery power or another power source) and generate an alarmcondition or an error.

If the sensor controller 106 determines that an alarm condition isoccurring in block 914, the method 900 advances to block 916 in whichthe local alarm 320 is activated. As discussed above, the local alarm320 may be embodied as a visual, audible, or tactile alarm.Additionally, in some embodiments, the sensor controller 106 maytransmit an alert to the operation monitor data server 108 in block 918to notify the server 108 of the alarm condition.

Referring now to FIG. 10, in use, the operation monitor data server 108may execute a method 1000 for monitoring operation of an air contaminantmitigation system 102. The method 1000 begins with block 1002 in whichthe operation monitor data server 108 is initialized. For example, theoperation monitor data server 108 may perform initial validation checksto ensure proper operation. Subsequently, in block 1004, the operationmonitor data server 108 determines whether any sensor data has beenreceived from the sensor controller(s) 106. If so, the method 1000advances to block 1006 in which the operation monitor data server 108stores the received sensor data in the data storage 406.

In block 1008, the operation monitor data server 108 may determine andstore operation data. The operation data may be based on the sensor datareceived in block 1006 and/or on other data or criteria. The operationdata is indicative of the operation state of the system 100. Forexample, the operation data may be indicative of the length of time ofoperation of the sensor modules 104, the sensor controller 106, and/orthe operation monitor data server 108 itself. The operation data mayalso include notification of any alerts or alarm conditions detected bythe sensor module 104 and/or the sensor controller 106.

Subsequently, the illustrative method 1000 advances to blocks 1010,1014, and 1020, which may be executed contemptuously with each other. Inblock 1010, the operation monitor data server 108 determines whether totransmit the sensor data and/or operation data to one or more remotedevices (e.g., the remote mobile communication device 112 and/or theremote computer 114). In some embodiments, the operation monitor dataserver 108 may continually transmit the sensor data and/or operationdata to such remote devices. Alternatively, the operation monitor dataserver 108 may periodically transmit the sensor data and/or operationdata to the remote devices. Additionally, in some embodiments, theoperation monitor data server 108 may transmit the sensor data and/oroperation data to the remote devices in response to a query receivedfrom the devices. For example, in one embodiment, the operation monitordata server 108 may maintain a web portal to allow access-on-demand tothe sensor data and/or operation data by the remote devices. Such accessmay be protected or otherwise privileged. As such, a user (e.g.,customer) may access the operation monitor data server 108 via the webportal to query and/or review the sensor data and/or operation datacollected by the operation monitor data server 108 about theirparticular location.

If the operation monitor data server 108 determines that the sensorand/or operation data should be transmitted in block 1010, the method1000 advances to block 1012 in which the operation monitor data server108 transmits (or otherwise allows access to) the sensor data and/oroperation data to the remote devices. The method 1000 subsequently loopsback to block 1004 to receive additional sensor data from the sensorcontroller 106.

Referring back to block 1014, the operation monitor data server 108 maybe configured to detect or otherwise determine the presence of an alarmcondition in some embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, theoperation monitor data server 108 may determine the presence of an alarmcondition based on the sensor data, similar to the sensor controller 106as discussed above. That is, the operation monitor data server 108 maycompare the sensor data to a reference threshold and determine thepresence of an alarm condition if the sensor data is outside thereference threshold. Additionally or alternatively, the operationmonitor data server 108 may monitor the sensor data over a time periodand determine the presence of an alarm condition in response to thesensor data viewed over the reference time period (e.g., the average ofthe sensor data is below a threshold value or is falling at a referencerate). Alternatively, the operation monitor data server 108 maydetermine the presence of an alarm condition based on an alert receivedfrom the sensor controller 106.

In some embodiments, the sensor controller 106 may be configured todetect an alarm condition based on the sensor signals and/orcommunications (or lack thereof) received from the sensor modules 104.In such embodiments, the method 1000 may also advance from block 1006,1008 to block 1014 in which the sensor controller 106 determines whetheran alarm condition is present. As discussed above, such determinationmay be based on the sensor signals received from the sensor modules 104,the sensor data generated (and/or stored) by the sensor controller 106,and/or on the communications received from the sensor modules 104. Forexample, in some embodiments, the sensor controller 106 may compare thereceived sensor signals to a pre-defined threshold value to determinewhether the sensor signals (or sensor data) is within an acceptablerange or otherwise at an acceptable value. Additionally oralternatively, the sensor controller 106 may compare the generatedsensor data to a pre-defined threshold value (e.g., an expected averagevalue) to determine whether the sensor modules 104 are functioningproperly over time. Additionally, in some embodiments, the sensorcontroller 106 may determine that an alarm condition is occurring if notransmission is received from the sensor module 104 within an expectedtime period or if an alert is received from the sensor module 104 asdiscussed above. Regardless, if the operation monitor data server 108determines that an alarm condition is occurring in block 1014, themethod 900 advances to block 1016 in which the operation monitor dataserver 108 may activate a local alarm. Similar to the sensor controller106, the local alarm of the operation monitor data server 108 may beembodied as an audible, visual, tactile, or other alarm. Additionally,in some embodiments, the operation monitor data server 108 may transmitan alert to the remote devices (e.g., the remote mobile communicationdevice 112 and/or the remote computer 114) in block 1018 to notify theremote devices of the alarm condition.

Referring back to block 1020, as discussed above, the operation monitordata server 108 may be configured to generate reports based on thesensor data, operation data, and/or other data or parameters of thesystem 100. As such, in block 1020, the operation monitor data server108 determines whether to generate such a report. If so, the method 1000advances to block 1022 in which the report is generated. Additionally,in some embodiments, the report may be transmitted to a remote device(e.g., the remote mobile communication device 112 and/or the remotecomputer 114) in block 1022. Such reports may provide indication of thesensor data (e.g., average sensor data values over time), the operationstate of the air contaminant mitigation system 102 (e.g., the length of“in-operation-time” of the air contaminant mitigation system 102), theoperation state of various components of the system 100 (e.g., the“in-operation-time” of the sensor modules 104 and/or the sensorcontroller 106), and/or other data. Such reports may be formatted andinclude data as required by various local and federal agencies tovalidate proper vapor intrusion mitigation of the rehabilitatedlocation.

Referring now to FIG. 11, as discussed above, the operation monitor dataserver 108 may provide a web portal accessible by one or more remotecomputer 114 to monitor alerts and overall condition of one or more aircontaminant mitigation systems 102 located at various monitored sites.To do so, the operation monitor data server 108 may execute a method1100 for providing monitored site data to a remote computer. The method1100 begins with block 1102 in which the operation monitor data server108 determines whether a remote computer 114 has requested access to thedata server 108. If so, the method advances to block 1104. In block1104, the operation monitor data server 108 accesses monitored sitedata. The monitored site data may include historical and/or real-timeoperation data relating to the operation conditions of any one or moremonitored sites. For example, the monitored site data may be retrievedfrom the data storage 405 of the operation monitor data server 108and/or currently received from one or more sensor controllers 106 fromone or more monitored sites. The monitored site data may be embodied asany type of data relating to air contaminant mitigation systems 102located at a monitored site. For example, in block 1106, the operationmonitor data server 108 may retrieve or receive alert data. The alertdata may be embodied as any type of data indicative of an alert or alarmcondition generated by sensor module 104 and/or a sensor controller 106or determined by the operation monitor data server 108 itself asdiscussed above (e.g., an alert indicative of a lack of periodiccommunication from a particular sensor controller 106). As discussedbelow, the alert data may include various data identifying the type ofalert, the time and/or date at which the alert was generated, thelocation of the alert, and so forth. In block 1108, the operationmonitor data server 108 may also retrieve or receive monitored sitedata. The monitored site data may be embodied as any additional datarelated to a particular monitored site and/or air contaminant mitigationsystems 102 located at a particular monitored site including, forexample, identification data of the monitored site, the length of timethe air contaminant mitigation system 102 has been up, the date and timeof a last fault or alert, and so forth.

After the monitored site data has been accessed in block 1104, theoperation monitor data server 108 displays an information dashboard tothe remote computer 114 in block 1110. To do so, the operation monitordata server 108 may transmit various information and data to the remotecomputer 114 to cause the remote computer 114 to display the informationdashboard. The operation monitor data server 108 may use any suitablecommunication technology and protocol to do so including, for example,hypertext markup language (HTML), extensible markup language (XML),and/or other markup language to display the information to the remotecomputer 114. The information dashboard provides a summary of operationdata related to various monitored sites and may include any type ofuseful information. For example, in some embodiments, the operationmonitor data server 108 displays a site alert summary on the informationdashboard in block 1112. The site alert summary may provide a quickoverview of recent alerts that have been generated at, or otherwiserelated to, any one of the monitored sites (i.e., at any one of themonitored air contaminant mitigation systems 102). Additionally, inblock 1114, the operation monitor data server 108 may display a sitedata summary. The site data summary may provide a quick overview ofvarious monitored site information for each monitored site such as, forexample, current status, length of up time, and date of last fault oralert. In some embodiments, in block 1116, the operation monitor dataserver 108 may also identity those monitored sites having an activealert or alarm condition. To do so, the operation monitor data server108 may highlight or otherwise provide some indication of those siteshaving an active alarm (e.g., via the site alert summary and/or the sitedata summary).

Referring now to FIG. 12, an illustrative screen display of aninformation dashboard 1200 is shown. The information dashboard 1200 maybe generated by the operation monitor data server 108, transmitted tothe remote computer 114, and displayed thereon. The informationdashboard 1200 includes a dashboard control panel 1202, a site alertsummary 1204, and a site information summary 1206. The dashboard controlpanel 1202 includes several buttons, which are selectable by a user ofthe remote computer 114 to display different types of information. Forexample, the dashboard control panel 1202 includes a dashboard button1210 to display the information dashboard 1200 (e.g., when the user hasnavigated away from the information dashboard 1200 display), a sitesbutton 1212 to display monitored site information (see FIG. 14), and analert button 1214 to display alert information (see FIG. 15).

The site alert summary 1204 displays summary information related to anyrecently occurring alerts generated at any of the monitored sites. Thesite alert summary 1204 may include any type of alert information usefulin providing the user with an overview of the recent alerts. Forexample, the illustrative site alert summary 1204 includes the date andtime of each alert, the site location (e.g., which particular monitoredsite or building of a monitored organization), and the type of alert(e.g., common fault, high-pressure fault, power fault, fan off fault,etc.). In some embodiments, the site alert summary 1204 may also includean alert action panel 1220, which may include one or more actions theuser may select to respond to the particular alert. For example, in theillustrative embodiment, the alert action panel 1220 includes anacknowledge button 1222 and a resolve button 1224. The user may selectthe acknowledge button 1222 to mark the corresponding alert as“acknowledged” (i.e., the user is aware of the alert, but the alert maynot have yet been responded to). Alternatively, the user may select theresolve button 1224 to mark the corresponding alert as “resolved” (i.e.,the alert has been addressed or otherwise responded to). Of course, inother embodiments, other tools and action buttons may be included on thealert action panel 1220. In addition to the site alert summary 1204, theinformation dashboard 1200 may include an alert notification 1226, whichprovides the user with a quick overview of all unresolved alerts. Forexample, the illustrative information dashboard 1200 shows that onealert is still pending for the user's review.

The site information summary 1206 includes one or more monitored sitewidgets 1230, which provide overview information (e.g., operation data)for each monitored site. For example, each monitored site widget 1230includes a name panel 1232, which includes the name of the monitoredsite (e.g., “ACME Warehouse Building 1,” “ACME Warehouse Building 2”,etc.). Additionally, each monitored site widget 1230 includes aninformation panel 1234, which includes a summary of site information.For example, in the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 12, each informationpanel 1234 includes a “status” field identifying whether any alerts arepending, an “up time” field identifying the length at which the aircontaminant mitigation systems 10 of the monitored site has beenoperational since the last fault, and a “last fault” field identifyingthe date and time of the last fault of the air contaminant mitigationsystem 102 of the monitored site. Of course, in other embodiments, theinformation panel 1234 may include additional or other informationrelated to the monitored site. Each monitored site widget 1230 alsoincludes an alert status indicator 1236, which identifies whether themonitored site has any pending or active alerts. In the illustrativeembodiment, the color of the alert status indicator 1236 is changed toindicate that that particular monitored site has a pending alert. Forexample, in the embodiment of FIG. 12, the monitored site “ACMEWarehouse Building 1” has an alert status indicator 1236 that is coloredblue to indicate that no alerts are pending or otherwise unresolved.However, the monitored site “ACME Warehouse Building 2” has an alertstatus indicator 1236 that is colored red to indicate that an alert ispending or otherwise unresolved. Additional information regarding thealert of the monitored site “ACME Warehouse Building 2” is alsodisplayed in the site alert summary 1204 as discussed above.

Referring now back to FIG. 11, after the information dashboard isdisplayed to the user of the remote computer 114, the method 1100advances to blocks 1118, 1120, and 1122. In block 1118, the operationmonitor data server 108 monitors for selection of the monitored sitewidgets 1230 of the site information summary 1206 displayed on thedashboard 1200. A user may select one of the monitored site widgets 1230to access additional details regarding that particular monitored site.If the user selects one of the monitored site widgets 1230, the method1100 advances to block 1124 in which the operation monitor data server108 displays alert details regarding any present or historical alertsgenerated by the air contaminant mitigation system 102 of the selectedmonitored site. The alert details may include additional informationrelative to the site alert summary 1204 displayed on the informationdashboard 1200 such as, for example, the particular exhaust fan orsensor causing the alert. Additionally, in block 1126, the operationmonitor data server 108 displays monitored fan data to the user of theremote computer 114. As discussed above, each air contaminant mitigationsystem 102 of a monitored site may include one or more sensor modules104, each of which monitor the operation of a corresponding exhaust fan(e.g., whether the fan is generating a suitable negative pressure,whether the fan is operational, etc.). As such, the operation monitordata server 108 may display detailed information regarding eachmonitored exhaust fan in block 1126. For example, in block 1128, theoperation monitor data server 108 identify those exhaust fans havingpending or unresolved alerts and display additional condition oroperational information related to the corresponding sensor module 104.The additional alert and site information generated and displayed inblocks 1124-1130 provide detailed information to the user of the remotecomputing device 114, which may allow the user to respond to any alertsin a more effective manner.

Referring now to FIG. 13, an illustrative screen display of a monitoredsite dashboard 1300 is shown. The monitored site dashboard 1300 includesa monitored site identity panel 1302, a monitored site alert report1304, and an exhaust fan report 1306. The monitored site identity panel1302 includes identity information of the selected monitored site. Forexample, the illustrative monitored site identity panel 1302 includesthe name of the monitored site (“ACME Warehouse Building 2”) and theaddress of the monitored site.

The monitored site alert report 1304 is similar to the site alertsummary 1204 of the information dashboard 1200 and may include similarinformation. For example, the illustrative monitored site alert report1304 includes the date and time of each alert, the type of alert, andthe particular exhaust fan causing the alert. Additionally, in someembodiments, the site alert summary 1204 may include an alert actionpanel 1320, which may be similar to the alert action panel 1220 of thesite alert summary 1204 of the information dashboard 1200.

The exhaust fan report 1306 includes a monitored fan widget 1330 foreach monitored fan of the air contaminant mitigation system 102 of themonitored site. For example, in the illustrative example of FIG. 13, themonitored site “ACME Warehouse Building 2” includes an air contaminantmitigation system 102 having three monitored exhaust fans (“front doorfan,” “back door fan,” “North fan”). As such, the exhaust fan report1306 includes three monitored fan widgets 1330, one for each monitoredfan. Each monitored fan widget 1330 includes a name panel 1332, whichincludes the name or other identifier of the monitored exhaust fan(e.g., “Local Fan: Front Door Fan,” “Remote Fan: Back Door Fan,” etc.).Additionally, each monitored fan widget 1330 includes an informationpanel 1334, which includes a summary of exhaust fan information. Forexample, in the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 13, each informationpanel 1334 includes a “serial” field identifying a serial number orother identity information of the monitored fan or corresponding sensormodule 104, a “status” filed that identities the number of any pendingor unresolved alerts corresponding to the monitored fan (e.g., generatedby a corresponding sensor module 104), an “up time” field identifyingthe length of time for which that particular monitored fan has beenoperational since the last fault, and a “last fault” field identifyingthe date and time of the last fault of the corresponding monitoredexhaust fan. Additionally, in some embodiments, the information panel1334 may include a sensor condition graphic 1340, such as apressure-reading graphic, that displays the current sensor conditionmeasurement or reading in a graphical or numerical form. For example,the illustrative sensor condition graphic 1340 is embodied as a pressuregauge that shows the current pressure measurement of the correspondingsensor module 104. Of course, in other embodiments, the informationpanel 1334 may include additional or other information related to themonitored exhaust fan. Similar to the monitored site widgets 1230, eachmonitored fan widget 1330 includes an alert status indicator 1336, whichidentifies whether the monitored exhaust fan (or corresponding sensormodule 104) has any pending or active alerts. Again, in the illustrativeembodiment, the color of the alert status indicator 1336 is changed toindicate that that particular monitored site has a pending alert (e.g.,a blue color may indicate no alerts, while a red color may indicate anactive alert).

Referring now back to FIG. 11, after the alert details and monitored fandata have been displayed to the user of the remote computing device 114in blocks 1124 and 1126, the method 1100 advances to block 1132. Inblock 1132, the operation monitor data server 108 determines whether theuser has selected the dashboard button 1210 to return to the informationdashboard 1200. If so, the method 1100 loops back to block 1110 in whichthe operation monitor data server 108 displays the information dashboard1200 to the user of the remote computing device 114. If not, the method1100 loops back to blocks 1118, 1120, and 1122 to monitor for otherselections as discussed below.

In block 1120, the operation monitor data server 108 monitors forselection of the sites button 1212 of the dashboard control panel 1202.If a user selects the sites button 1212, the method 1100 advances toblock 1134 in which the operation monitor data server 108 displaysorganization and site information to the user of the remote computingdevice 114. The organization and site information may be embodied as anytype of information related to monitored sites and/or the organizationsto which the monitored sites belong. For example, an illustrativeorganization dashboard 1400 is shown in FIG. 14. The organizationdashboard 1400 includes a list of organizations 1402, each having one ormore monitored location sites. A user may select one of theorganizations 1402 to see a list 1404 of the individual monitored sites.For example, the organization “ACME Warehouse” has seven monitored sites(“ACME Warehouse Building 1,” “ACME Warehouse Building 2,” etc.). A usermay select one of the listed monitored sites to view additionalinformation regarding the selected monitored site such as any alertdetails as discussed above in regard to FIG. 13. After the organizationand site information has been displayed to the user in block 1134, themethod 1100 advances to block 1132 in which the operation monitor dataserver 108 determines whether the user has selected to view theinformation dashboard 1200 as discussed above.

Referring back to block 1122, the operation monitor data server 108monitors for selection of the alert button 1214 of the dashboard controlpanel 1202. If a user selects the alert button 1214, the method 1100advances to block 1136 in which the operation monitor data server 108displays historical alert data to user of the remote computing device114. The historical alert data may be embodied as any type of datarelated to the generation of alerts are any one of the monitored sites.For example, the operation monitor data server 108 may display the timeof the alerts in block 1130, the type of alerts in block 1140, thelocation of the alerts 1142, the identity of the fan having the alert inblock 1144, and the current status of the alert in block 1146. Anillustrative alert dashboard 1500 is shown in FIG. 5. The alertdashboard 1500 includes a date/time column 1502 in which the time anddate of each listed alert is identified, an alert type column 1504 inwhich the type of alert is identified, an organization column 1506 inwhich the organization to which the monitored site generating the alertis identified, a site column 1508 identifying the monitored sitegenerating the alert, a fan name column 1510 in which the fan causing orhaving the generated alert is identified, a make/model column 1512identifying the type or module of the fan and/or corresponding sensormodule(s) 104, and a status column 1514 identifying the current statusof the alert (e.g., “acknowledged,” “resolved,” or “active”). Of course,other information may be included in the alert dashboard 1500 in otherembodiments.

Referring back to FIG. 11, after the historical alert data has beendisplayed to the user of the remote computing device 114, the method1100 advances to block 1132. As discussed above, the operation monitordata server 108 determines whether the user has selected to view theinformation dashboard 1200 in block 1132. If so, the method 1100 loopsback to block 1110 in which the operation monitor data server 108displays the information dashboard 1200 to the user of the remotecomputing device 114. If not, the method 1100 loops back to blocks 1118,1120, and 1122 to monitor for other selections as discussed below.

Referring now to FIGS. 16-22, one illustrative embodiment of a sensorcontroller 106 is shown. The illustrative sensor controller 106 includesa housing 1600 having a bottom housing 1602 and a top housing 1604,which may be securing joined to each other via a clamp 1606. The housing1600 houses the electrical components of the sensor controller 106 andprovides an amount of environmental protection for those components. Tofacilitate communications to and from the sensor controller 106, acommunications antenna 1608 (e.g., a cellular antenna) may extend fromthe housing 1600 to improve communications. The housing 1600 may beformed from any suitable material depending on, for example, theparticular environment in which the sensor controller 106 will bedeployed.

As shown in FIG. 18, the illustrative sensor controller 106 includescontroller circuitry 1800 housed in the housing 1602. The illustrativecontroller circuitry 1800 includes a power supply 1802, anuninterruptible power supply 1804, a programmable logic controller 1806,and a communication circuit 1808. The programmable logic controller 1806may be embodied as any type of programmable logic controller andillustratively includes an integrated human-machine interface (e.g., abuilt-in display, control panel, keyboard, touch screen, and/or anyother type of human-machine interface for displaying data or controllingthe PLC). For example, in some embodiments, the programmable logiccontroller 1806 may be embodied as the Vision120™ PLC (Part No.V120-22-R1), which is commercially available from Unitronics, Ltd. ofIsrael.

As discussed, in some embodiments, the sensor controller 106 maycommunicate with one or more of the operation monitor data servers 108,the remote mobile communication device 112, and/or the remote computer114 via the network 110 using cellular communications. In suchembodiments, the communication circuit 1808 may be embodied as, orotherwise include, a cellular modem. For example, in the illustrativeembodiment, the communication circuit 1806 is embodied as a cellularmodem included with the GPRS/GSM kit (Part No. GSM-KIT-41-J), which iscommercially available from Unitronics Ltd. of Israel.

Additionally, in some embodiments as discussed above, the sensorcontroller 106 may communicate with one or more sensor modules 104 viawireless communications. In such embodiments, the controller circuitry1800 (e.g., the communication circuit 1808 or, the programmable logiccontroller 1806) may include a wireless communication circuitry. Forexample, in one illustrative embodiment, such wireless communicationcircuitry is embodied wireless communication circuitry configured withfrequency-hopping spread spectrum communication functionality such asthe DX80DR9M-H MultiHop 900 Mhz Radio (Part No. 11431) and/or theDX80DR9M-HB1 MultiHop 900 Mhz Radio Board (Part No. 17420), which arecommercially available from Banner Engineering Corp. of Minneapolis,Minn.

The illustrative controller circuitry 1800 of FIG. 18 also includes arelay bank 1810, a fuse bank 1812, an interconnection strip 1814 (seeFIG. 19) to facilitate the interconnections of the controller circuitry1800, and a power receptacle 1816 to distribute power from theuninterruptible power supply 1804 as discussed below. The number andtype of individual relays and fuses included in the relay bank 1810 andthe fuse bank 1812 may depend on the individual components of thecontroller circuitry 1800 and its interconnections. Similarly, the sizeand layout of the interconnection strip 1814 may depend on theindividual components and interconnections of the controller circuitry1800.

Referring now to FIG. 20, one illustrative embodiment of the powerconnections of the controller circuitry 1800 is shown. In theillustrative controller circuitry 1800, the power supply 1802 and theuninterruptable power supply 1804 each receive input power from standardpower lines. The power supply 1802 is configured to generate a 24 voltDirect Current (DC) output, which the uninterruptable power supply 1804generates a 120 volt Alternating Current (AC) output. The output of thepower supply 1802 is provided various components of the air contaminantmitigation system 102, such the sensor module 104. The output of theuninterruptable power supply 1804 supplies other components of thecontroller circuitry 1800 such as the programmable logic controller 1806and the communication circuit 1808, as well as the exhaust fan(s) 124 insome embodiments.

As shown in FIGS. 21 and 22, the programmable logic controller 1806 iscommunicatively coupled to the communication circuit 1806. Additionally,the programmable logic controller 1806 is communicatively coupled to thesensors 200 of the sensor module 104, which are illustratively embodiedas differential pressure sensors 2200 having built in transmitters totransmit the sensor data to the programmable logic controller 1806. Inthe illustrative embodiment, the programmable logic controller 1806 iscommunicatively coupled to the sensors 2200 via wired interconnects but,as discussed above, the programmable logic controller 1806 and thesensors 2200 may use wireless communication in other embodiments totransfer sensor data from the individual sensor modules 104 to theprogrammable logic controller 1806 (i.e., to the controller circuitry1800 of the sensor controller 106

While the disclosure has been illustrated and described in detail in thedrawings and foregoing description, such an illustration and descriptionis to be considered as exemplary and not restrictive in character, itbeing understood that only illustrative embodiments have been shown anddescribed and that all changes and modifications that come within thespirit of the disclosure are desired to be protected.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for monitoring an environmentalcontaminant mitigation and/or remediation system, the system comprising:a sensor module in communication with the environmental contaminantmitigation and/or remediation system and configured to (i) generatesensor signals indicative of a sensor condition of the environmentalcontaminant mitigation and/or remediation system and (ii) transmit thesensor signals; and a sensor controller including a housing andcommunicatively coupled to the sensor module, the sensor controllerconfigured to (i) receive the sensor signals from the sensor module, and(ii) generate sensor data indicative of the sensor condition based onthe sensor signals, wherein the environmental contaminant mitigationand/or remediation system includes an exhaust fan, and wherein thesensor module is configured to determine an operational state of theexhaust fan and is configured to generate sensor signals indicative of aloss of power supplied to the exhaust fan.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the sensor controller is configured to generate an alarm inresponse to the sensor data having a reference relationship to athreshold value.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the environmentalcontaminant mitigation system includes an air conduit extending from asub-foundation area of a building to an external environment of thebuilding.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the sensor module comprisesa pressure sensor configured to generate sensor signals indicative of anair pressure within the air conduit.
 5. The system of claim 1, whereingenerating sensor signals comprises generating pressure signalsindicative of the pressure generated in a sub-foundation area of abuilding relative to the air pressure of an internal and/or externalenvironment of a building.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensormodule comprises a gas sensor configured to detect the presence and/ormagnitude of a type of gas.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensormodule comprises: at least one sensor configured to generate sensorsignals indicative of a sensor condition of the environmentalcontaminant mitigation and/or remediation system; and a communicationcircuit to transmit the sensor signals to the sensor controller.
 8. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the sensor controller comprises: acommunication circuit to receive the sensor signals from the sensormodule; and a control circuit to (i) generate the sensor data, (ii)compare the sensor data to a threshold value, and (iii) generate analarm in response to the sensor data having a reference relationship tothe threshold value.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the communicationcircuit comprises: a communication circuit communicatively coupled tothe sensor module and configured to receive the sensor signals from thesensor module; and the communication circuit to transmit the sensor datato a remote computer.
 10. The system of claim 8, wherein the sensorcontroller further comprises a local alarm, and wherein the controlcircuit is configured to activate the local alarm in response to thesensor data having a reference relationship to the threshold value. 11.The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor controller is configured tochange a setting, configuration, or operating condition of theenvironmental contaminant mitigation and/or remediation system based onthe generated sensor data.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein changinga setting, configuration, or operating condition of the environmentalcontaminant mitigation system comprises adjusting pressure inside an airconduit, adjusting a speed of an exhaust fan, turning on or off anexhaust fan, adjusting a pressure differential or a pressure set point,and/or adjusting or setting reference alarm thresholds.
 13. The systemof claim 1, further comprising a data server, wherein the sensorcontroller is configured to transmit the sensor data to the data server,and the data server is configured to generate operation data indicativeof the operation of the environmental contaminant mitigation and/orremediation system based the sensor data and facilitate access to theoperation data by a remote computer.
 14. The system of claim 13, whereinthe data server is configured to determine an alarm condition based onthe operation data and generate a user interface, viewable via theremote computer, having an indicator of the alarm condition to notify auser of the remote computer of the alarm condition.
 15. The system ofclaim 13, wherein the data server is configured to generate, based onthe operation data, an operational indicator indicative of the length oftime for which the environmental contaminant mitigation system has beenoperational.
 16. The system of claim 13, wherein the data server isconfigured to generate, based on the operation data, an operationalindicator indicative of the presence and/or magnitude of a type of gasmeasured by a gas sensor of the environmental contaminant mitigationand/or remediation system.
 17. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensorcontroller comprises: a communication circuit communicatively coupled tothe sensor module and configured to receive the sensor signals from thesensor module; and the communication circuit to transmit the sensor datato a remote computer over a cellular network.
 18. A system formonitoring an environmental contaminant mitigation and/or remediationsystem, the system comprising: a sensor module in communication with theenvironmental contaminant mitigation and/or remediation system andconfigured to (i) generate sensor signals indicative of a sensorcondition of the environmental contaminant mitigation and/or remediationsystem and (ii) transmit the sensor signals; and a sensor controllerincluding a housing and communicatively coupled to the sensor module,the sensor controller including (i) a communication circuitcommunicatively coupled to the sensor module and configured to receivethe sensor signals from the sensor module; and (ii) a communicationcircuit to transmit the sensor data to a remote computer over a cellularnetwork; wherein the sensor controller is configured to detect a loss ofpower to the sensor controller and send a signal to the remote computerindicative of the loss of power.